Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke to media members on Monday, providing the latest update on WR Xavier Worthy’s shoulder injury, following the team’s Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.
Worthy suffered a shoulder injury just three offensive plays into the Week 1 game after a collision with TE Travis Kelce. He was seen in a lot of pain, walking off the field with members of the training staff, and a towel over his head, and he was eventually ruled out of the game due to the injury. After the game, Reid said Worthy would undergo further evaluation with an MRI scheduled for when the team returned home from Brazil.
It was confirmed on Sunday by NFL insider Ian Rapoport that Worthy suffered a shoulder dislocation and was seeking a second opinion on his injury before making a final determination. According to Rapoport, the options were either missing time and returning while wearing a brace or undergoing season-ending surgery. Coach Reid’s latest update didn’t provide much clarity on the options, but it seems to suggest that a decision has been made toward the prior.
“I know Xavier (Worthy) is the big question,” Reid said. “He’s rehabbing and working his shoulder. We’ll see where it goes, day by day, here. We’ll see where we end up.”
It appears that Worthy will at least miss some time with the injury, but just how much will be determined on a day-by-day or week-by-week basis. It remains to be seen if short-term injured reserve is a possibility.
The Chiefs could have one reinforcement at wide receiver coming soon
Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Tyquan Thornton were the three players most relied upon by the Chiefs at the receiver position in the wake of Xavier Worthy’s injury. The team, however, might have one reinforcement on the way. Rookie WR Jalen Royals has been dealing with knee tendinitis for several weeks and missed the Week 1 game in Brazil as a result.
Reid provided an update on Royals’ status on Monday.
“Jalen (Royals) is doing a good job with his rehab,” Reid said. “Well, again, we’ll just see how that ends up this week, where we’ve got a couple of days here. The guys are making good progress in that. But we’ll see where it rolls. If neither (Xavier Worthy nor Jalen Royals) plays, we’ve got the guys we played with the other night.”
In addition to the group that played in Week 1, the Chiefs have WR Jimmy Holiday on the practice squad, who could be elevated to the 53-man roster.